More on “unprecedented”

Capital J

By Ron Kampeas · November 16, 2009

At Politico, Laura Rozen notes the New Republic piece which counts Hillary Rodham Clinton's description of Israel's partial settlement freeze as "unprecedented" as among her "gaffes."

Laura presents both cases. at least as far as "unprecedented" goes -- gaffe? or calculated?

But are they gaffes, some long time Clinton observers have wondered? Or are they rather public articulation of what are supposed to be internal administration policy positions to be conveyed privately, as others have made the case to me?

(snip)

As one official told me in Cairo, Clinton said part of the approved talking points in Jerusalem (that Netanyahu's partial settlement freeze moratorium in advance of peace talks resuming would be an "unprecedented" step -- language some U.S. diplomats were indeed privately using to me to describe the offer in the weeks preceding Clinton saying it) but not the whole thing (an unprecedented and far reaching step ... that nevertheless falls short of what the U.S. has pushed for, etc.)